Vehicle-wheel.



Patnted Oct. [0,1899.

A. T. BOLTON. VEHICLE WHEEL. (Application filed I; 27, was

(No Model.)

following is a specification.

' its tire or any of the other parts constituting tion that isapplicable to wooden vehicle- UNITED 1 STATES P TENT ()FFICE.

V "ANDREW T. COLTON, OF LAFAYETTE, INDIANA.

VEHICLE-WH EEL.

' SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 634,718, datedOctober 10, 1899.

Application filed January 2'7, 1898. erial No. 668,174. (No model.)

T0 (all whom, it 172/011] con/Germ 4 Be it known that 1, ANDREW T,OoL'roN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lafayette, in thecounty of Tippecanoe and State of Indiana, have invented newand usefulImprovements in Vehicle-Wheels, of which the My invention relates to newand useful improvements in the construction of vehiclewheels, and isparticularly-applicable to those wheels in which the hubs, spokes, andrims are constructed of wood; and it consists in a means whereby theslack or looseness of the tires of such wheels may be taken up, as hereinafter more fully set forth.

The object of this my invention is to construct a vehicle-wheel of woodor othermaterial susceptible to a variable degree of either expansion orcontraction due to atmospheric conditions and influences in such amanner that the slackness of the rim of the wheel in the wheel may betaken up and to accomplish this result without adding to the weightv ofor materially varying or departing from the current form of constructionof wooden wagon or other vehicle wheels; and a further object is toprovide means whereby any of the spokes of the wheel that mayby anycause whatever be broken may be readily replaced by a new spoke withoutthe aid of skilled 1abor or necessitating repair in theworkshop. Iobtain these objects by means of the form of construction of thevehiclewheel illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which similarnumerals of reference designate like parts throughout the several views.

Figure 1 is a broken-off part sectional'side elevational view of thewheel. Fig. 2 is a broken-off transverse sectional view of the same,taken through the line A B, see Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail broken-offview of a portion of the rim and tire of the wheel, showing the joint-clamp thereof and Fig. at is a transverse section of the same,taken through the line C D, see Figs. 1 and 3.

The hub l of the wheel is of wood and of the usual'or any approved formof construcwheels and is provided with the usual or any suitable bearing or boxing-2, the reinforcingring 3, the guard-ring 4t, and the centerreinforcing-rings 5, which encircle the central portion of the hub,close up to the mortises 6 thereof, toprevent said hub from splitting atthis part. The mortises 6 receive the feet 7-of the spokes 8. The spokes8 do not project at their tenon ends 9 to be let into the rims. orfollies 10 of the wheel, butare purposely made short to permit an amountof clearance between the tenon ends of said spokes and said fellies 10to permitthe ready removal of any of said spokes 8 without detaching thefellies 10 from the wheel, and the particular manner and means wherebythese said tenon ends 9 of the spokes 8 are adjustare provided for thepurpose of preventingsaid thimbles from turning on the ends of saidspokes. The sleeve-nuts 14: are interiorly threaded to receive thethreaded portions of the thimhles l1, whereon they are screwed. Thetenon ends 9 of the spokes 8 are each bored longitudinally and centrallyalong their axes to loosely receive the ends of the dowel or centeringpins 15, whiclrpins also pass through and loosely fit in the boresformed in the ends of the thimbles 11, thereby forming a guide orcentering pin for the spokes 8, by

which means the latter are held in their proper positions relatively tothe rim or felly 10 of the wheel. The rim or felly 10. is also boredradially to tightly and securely receive the outer ends of the saiddowel or centering pins 15, and these holes register with the bores orholes formed in the tenon ends 9 of the spokes 8. Interposed between thesleeve-nut 14 and the rim or felly 10 are the bearing-washers 16, whichare drilled centrally to receive the d0wel-pins.15,and said washers areprovided for the purpose of receiving the bearing pressure imposed bysaid sleeve-nuts 14 and distributing said pressure over a greater areaof the yielding surface of the rim 10 to prevent indentationstherein.Suitablelockingorjam nuts 13 are also provided for the purpose ofpreventing the sleeve-nuts 14: from turning or Working loose while thewheels are in use.

The segments of the rim or felly 10 do not abut to form close joints,but are preferably made slightly shorter to form open joints, whichlatter are covered or concealed by suitable joint-caps 17. Thejoint-caps 17 are bent over and fitted closely to the sides of the rim10 and have their outer bends 18 bent to lap under the tire 19 toloosely fit in the recess tion, what I claim as new and useful, anddesire to cover byLetters Patent of the United States therefor, is-

In a vehicle-Wheel, the combination witha felly, of a dowel-pin havingone end seated in and secured to the felly and its other end'projecting, a spoke having a socket in its end which .loosely receives theprojecting end of the dowel so that it can slide therein, a thimble orcap incasing the end of the spoke which is provided with exteriorscrew-threads, a sleeve-nut screwed on the thimble, a jam-nut on thethimble for clamping the sleeve-nut and a Washer interposed between thesleevenut and the felly.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

ANDREW T. COLTON.

Witnesses:

EVAN J ONES, CHARLES W. Bonn.

